Lenny Dykstra, once at the pinnacle of the baseball world, is bankrupt and living in his offices.

His mansion, once owned by NHL great Wayne Gretzky, is now underwater. Literally. After depreciating in value over the years, Dykstra was forced to abandon it, leaving it in a state of utter ruin.

After baseball, Dykstra owned a successful chain of car washes which he sold and then parlayed the earnings into his next venture: The Players Club. The elitist magazine was a failure and Dykstra's ambitions to turn it into a financial advisory service sputtered and faltered.

A Little History

First, a little background on Lenny. Dykstra was a huge baseball star in the 1980s, playing for both the Mets and Phillies with great fanfare. After a 1991 drunk driving incident and several other injuries, he retired from baseball in 1996. Afterwords, he started a successful car wash business and became heavily focused on trading stocks.

Dykstra started an upscale magazine/concierge service targeted at professional athletes called The Players Club. The venture was a failure and wiped out a lot of Dykstra's finances, paving the way for his downfall.

Image: AP

A Tough Attitude

Dykstra was known for being a total hardass both on and off the field. Drunk driving, fights, and a glory-for-all approach to the game made him a hit with fans. Business partners and spouses are not happy, however. Many have accused him of fraud and his wife Terri divorced him in April of 2009.

Image: AP

Drunk Driving

In 1991, Dykstra attended the bachelor party of Phillies teammate John Kruk and left around 1AM while still intoxicated. He then proceeded to crash his red SL 500 Mercedes into a tree, injuring both himself and teammate Darren Daulton very seriously.

The Players Club

Perhaps best summed up in a GQ article entitled "You Think Your Job Sucks? Try Working for Lenny Dykstra," The Players Club was a poorly managed attempt to market a magazine, charter jet service, and brokerage/investment service all in one package. The target audience? Professional athletes like Dykstra.

Unfortunately for Dykstra, nobody wanted his services and the entire soon folded. For the full story from a former employee of his, read the GQ article.

Image: AP

A High Employee Turnover Rate

When you pay your employees late (or not at all) and berate them in ridiculously long emails, chances are your business doesn't have a high rate of employee retention.

Kevin Coughlin details many a nightmare scenario that he experienced working with Lenny.

Image: TBI

He Just Couldn't Pay The Bills

Horror stories emerge when it comes to The Players Club. Dykstra would be late in paying his employees, wouldn't pay printers for the magazine, and generally was a cheapskate throughout the whole ordeal.

The same goes for his house. After defaulting on loans against it, Dykstra lost the Gretzky mansion, and he now lives in his car. Suffice to say, his credit is ruined.

A Portfolio of Worms

Dykstra used to be a wise investor. He was big on stock and options trading at Big Ram Capital and other firms and was even praised by CNBC's Jim Cramer. Lenny also invested in those stores where you bring your crap in and they sell it on eBay for a fee.

Then his portfolio tanked and Dykstra was vilified in the press.

Image: TBI

Wayne Gretzky's Mansion

That's right. The Great One sold his fabulous Los Angeles mansion to Dykstra for a cool $17.5 million. Dykstra then proceeded to put it in the market when filing for bankruptcy, asking $24.5 million for it.

He never sold it. And even worse, it's now underwater and its value has plummeted to around $11.5 million.

Accusations of Fraud and Gambling

Dykstra's business partner, Lindsay Jones, sued him for fraud related to their car wash business. Says ESPN of the matter:

In the lawsuit, Jones alleges Dykstra advised him to gamble an average of $2,000 per game on select Phillies contests in 1993.

In a sworn statement, Jones said his baseball wagers were a form of payment to him, made "on the basis that Lenny would cover all losses, and I would use the winnings to live on."

A lame lawsuit, but nonetheless, it certainly didn't help Dykstra's public image. That and the lawsuit alleged that Lenny juiced up on steroids during his baseball career, something of a norm in today's world of sports.

Image: TBI

Bankruptcy Filing

Last July, Dykstra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was deemed unfit to re-tailor his financial situation.

The list of his creditors is truly obscene and considering how much money he owes, one doubts his ability to build himself back up.

$2.5 million to David and Teresa Litt, real estate pros in Calabasas, Calif.

$1.5 million to K & L Gates LLP, a Santa Monica law firm

$1.1 million to United Commercial Bank, San Francisco

$962,000 to private-jet companies in New York, Cleveland and California

$512,000 to the California state labor department's enforcement unit

The Mitchell Report On Steroid Abuse

The infamous 2007 Mitchell Report was a blow to professional baseball. It uncovered the wide abuse of steroids and performance enhancing drugs being used in the MLB. Dykstra was named in it and many former ball players have attested to seeing him use said drugs.

Image: TBI

Things Are Bad When You Live In A Car

Lenny Dykstra is now nothing but a shadow of his former self. Gone is Nails, replaced with a dejected old man who has nothing left to show of his once powerful athletic career. Reports suggest that Dykstra now spends his time between sleeping in his offices and his car, meaning he has no home, no family, and no job.